When a vehicle is running, a shook absorber mounting surface of the vehicle may be deformed due to a load coming from a tire via a shock absorber, which may adversely affect maneuvering stability of the vehicle. To solve such an adverse effect, a technique for eliminating or reducing deformation of the shock absorber mounting surface has been developed.
Japanese Patent No. 3214342, for example, discloses a vehicle rear structure in which a shock absorber mounting bracket (shock absorber mounting surface) is joined to an upper end of a rear strut tower formed at an upper portion of a rear wheel house and such a shock absorber mounting bracket is joined to a lower wall of a rear parcel member.
In addition, Japanese patent No. 4376277 discloses a vehicle rear structure in which a box-shaped reinforcement section is provided on a shock absorber mounting surface formed at an upper portion of a rear wheel house.
In the vehicle rear structure disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3214342, the shock absorber mounting bracket and the lower wall of the rear parcel member are joined to each other whereby the rear parcel member bears a load as well. However, the shock absorber mounting bracket, if low in stiffness, may be easily deformed, making it difficult to transmit a load to the rear parcel member. To overcome such difficulty, the stiffness must be improved by increasing plate thickness of the shock absorber mounting bracket, but increased plate thickness will result in an increase in weight.
The reinforcement, section disclosed in Japanese patent No. 4376277 consists of a bottom joined to the shock absorber mounting surface and four side walls extending upward from circumferential edges of the bottom and has an opening formed at an upper portion thereof. Accordingly, the reinforcement section disclosed in Japanese patent No. 4376277 suffers from deterioration in stiffness due to the presence of the opening, which may be unlikely to sufficiently prevent or reduce deformation of the shock absorber mounting surface.